


Reason

by AbsolutelyGarbage



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Complete, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 04:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolutelyGarbage/pseuds/AbsolutelyGarbage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No, no don’t say that give me a good reason for what i’m about to do. Give me a reason, please.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reason

**Author's Note:**

> My first Maruani ficlet and it’s angst hahahaha shoot me please

Fire and ash and rubble and blood, blood everywhere. On the broken cobblestone beneath his feet, running down the side of his face, staining his uniform. Both with his own blood and the blood of fallen soldiers. All this dying, all this killing, it was making him dizzy. Marco could never claim to be the strongest, neither physically or mentally.

He wasn’t strong like Mikasa, smart like Armin, brave like Eren, skilled like Jean…Jean. The last time he’d seen him Annie and Connie were helping save him. So Jean was safe, but where were his other comrades? He’d distracted the titan so Jean could escape, Connie attacked it, felled it, but there was another one.

It got a hold of Marco’s wire, it had slammed him down. The throbbing in his temple in his arm were proof enough of that. Connie was distracted with the other titan, Jean putting on new gear, it must have been Annie then. The reason Marco was still alive. What happened after that? He forced himself to think but it was hard. 

Bit by bit he walked slowly, stiffly trying to will his muscles to work properly. This wasn’t good. he’d be dead in a minute like this, but, but Annie had saved him and now she could be in danger. Because of him. Having his comrades die for him, that’s not something Marco could ever allow.

Think, think, Marco commanded himself, where is she? There was so much noise, he didn’t know why he turned his head, but he did. It was a titan, trapped under layers of bricks, slowly evaporating. But it wasn’t the titan that moved, it was the person.

Marco had seen it once before, a human emerging from the flesh of a titan. It had been Eren, not too long ago. At that time Mikasa had gone to his side without hesitation. As soon as he recognized the form as Annie Marco did the same. She was under rubble but one thing three years of training had given him was the means to get her out.

She had the marks on her face, the same as Eren had, and she was unconscious as well. It was a precarious situation but with enough other people around to distract the titans he took the risk. Stupid, Annie would probably chastise him later. That was how she’d always seemed to view Marco, foolish, stupidly serious.

But she’d saved his life and like hell he was going to leave his friend to die. So he risked the verbal lashing, taking Annie’s unconscious form to the basement of a nearby house. It wouldn’t cover them for long but hopefully long enough for Annie to regain consciousness.

Annie woke up, the familiar dull throbbing that followed shifting filled her muscles. She was experienced enough to remain fully aware after leaving her full titan form, but this is one she made on impulse. This wasn’t part of the plan. If she was going to die she was supposed to die, not shift. She would give the others away.

Why wasn’t she dead? Being knocked out should have given the titans plenty of opportunity. Her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the basement, the only light was filtering in from the holes in the floors above them but it was enough. Marco was wrapping what used to be his shirt sleeve around a particularly bad cut on Annie’s arm.

"You’re awake" he smiled when he felt her icy blue eyes trained on her and looked up. No, don’t do that. Don’t look at me with those stupid warm eyes, not when you saw…not when I have to…

"So, it looks like you’re a shifter too" Marco said idly, putting the jacket of his uniform back on "I won’t tell anyone" he said softly, noticing how wide her eyes had become. No, don’t say that. Say you’re going to tell everyone. Say you know i’m a traitor and that you hate me.

"Hey" he squeezes her hand gently "It’s going to be ok, you’re not alone. We’ll figure out what’s going on with you and Eren" stop comforting me give me a reason, something that justifies what i’m about to do.

Annie is working furiously through solutions. Marco would keep his word, he wouldn’t tell anyone. Until the next phase of their plan. He would know it was her and be obliged to tell and it would be all over. No, it couldn’t get to that point. She’d worked so hard, killed so many people, was planning on killing so many more.

So why is this so hard? “Marco” stupid, idiot, foolish boy, why did he have to save her? Why did he have to be so kind? Kind people had always had a way of getting inside her head. “Marco, i’m sorry”

Annie, why did you have Marco’s gear?


End file.
